Downturn, Though Likely Weather-Driven, Reflects Pattern of Sluggishness Seen Over Past Five Years

A contraction in the nation's economic output in the first quarter again deferred hopes for a sustained pickup in growth, another stumble for a lackluster recovery approaching the end of its fifth year.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, shrank at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1% in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The...